A BLOOD-CURDLING collapse in A&E services was laid bare yesterday by figures directly linking closures to the worst waits in England.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said the plunge “should send a shiver down the spine of every single community in the country” after statistics revealed that a third of emergency patients at trusts in Staffordshire and north-west London waited over four hours to be seen.

Only a year ago the number seen within four hours stood at around 90 per cent.